The global personal care packaging market was estimated at USD 23.17 billion in 2014. The market is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period on account of rising demand for skin care products from countries such as Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, UAE, Saudi Arabia, China, India, Indonesia and the U.S. Moreover, with companies shifting their focus to aesthetic design of personal care products to attract more consumers is projected to spur market growth. Rising awareness among companies regarding compact and sustainable packaging solutions is projected to impact the growth of the market.

Rising demand for products such as skin care and hair care due to rising consumer awareness towards healthy lifestyle habits is projected to fuel growth. High consumption of aftershaves, perfumes, and nail paints are expected to further bolster market growth. Rapid industrialization has led to set up of numerous cosmetic manufacturing units especially in countries such as China and India. This is projected to further stimulate industry growth over the forecast period.

Technological innovations to improve the manufacturing process of flexible packaging have helped to minimize energy and raw material costs. This is expected to augment industry growth over the forecast period. However, fluctuating raw material prices such as that of PP and HDPE is projected to hinder market growth over the forecast period. Growing utilization of bioplastics along with ongoing product development to improve packaging performance is projected to open new avenues over the forecast period.

Skin care was the largest segment and is projected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. The growth can be attributed to increasing awareness among the end-use customers regarding beauty products along with rising concerns among people regarding the harmful effects of pollution and global warming. The global male population is increasingly preferring skin care products along with the high demand of anti-aging creams is expected to propel growth.

Bath & Shower hence was the most prominent segment owing to rising consumer awareness about health and hygiene. Also, with high usage of body washes, bar & liquid soaps, and shower gels, the market is further expected to witness growth.

Flexibles are expected to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period. It was the largest product segment in 2014. The growth can be attributed to the low raw material requirement, easy disposal, container variety and light weight. With the increasing use of bioplastics as packaging solutions with high durability and shelf life is projected to create immense opportunities for personal care packaging sector over the forecast period. The high shelf life of personal care products with flexible packaging is expected to drive the market growth.

Metal packaging is expected to witness below average growth in the personal care sector owing to the high risk of cosmetics reacting with the metals, thus resulting in reducing their shelf life and incurring losses. Also, factors such as high storage costs, negative impact on the environment, heavy weight and low corrosion resistance are expected to hinder market growth for metal packaging over the forecast period. However, incessant usage of deodorants and hair sprays in countries such as U.S., China, Germany, Saudi Arabia, India, and Brazil is expected to augment demand over the forecast period.

Bottles were the largest packaging segment and accounted for over 28.0% of global revenue share in 2014 and are expected to continue to maintain its dominance in the market due to high usage in skin care, hair care and products used for bath & shower. Cans are projected to lose its market share over the forecast period. This can be attributed to its high manufacturing costs and its harmful impact on the environment.

Asia Pacific was estimated at over USD 81.0 billion in 2014, and it dominated the global industry. This trend is expected to continue further on account of growing demand for personal care products along with its lightweight packing, therefore driving flexible packaging market in countries such as Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam. Also, rising awareness among men about grooming and high consumption of serums, gels, skin care products, tanning lotions and sunblock is expected to propel industry growth.

MEA is projected to experience significant growth at a CAGR of over 7.0% during the forecast period, due to high demand for perfumes in Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Kuwait. In addition, the high purchasing power of the youth is expected to fuel growth in the region over the forecast period.

The industry is highly competitive in nature. Some of the major players in the industry are Mondi plc, Sonoco, Ampac Holding, Bemis Company and Albea Group. Companies invest substantially in R&D activities and product development. Some of the other players in the industry are Crown Holdings, Inc., ITC, West Rock company and Ardagh group. In July 2015, “liquiform technology” was launched by Amcor, which simplified production of rigid plastic containers and finds application in a wide range of consumer products.